Why Dynamic Work Design Matters

Today, most organizational design is static. It presumes everything will go as planned in the organization chart and the process designs. The problem with static design is that things always go wrong.

How Does it Work?

Dynamic Work Design is based on four principles:

  1. Align And Reconcile Activity And Intent Did my actions meet the goal? Do I know the best way?
  2. Connect The Human Chain Through Triggers And Checks Who do I ask for help? When do I check in?
  3. Structure Problem Solving And Creativity If the activity did not deliver the intent, why? And what are we doing about it?
  4. Manage Optimal Challenge How much gap between activity and intent can we handle?

Through 20 years of research, consulting, and collaboration, MIT Sloan Professor Nelson Repenning and Senior Lecturer Don Kieffer have created a new approach, called Dynamic Work Design, which raises the game on how to design and improve work. “With simple changes, organizations can quickly see 30% improvement,” notes Kieffer, a 40-year industry veteran.

Repenning explains, “Static design breaks you into pieces, Dynamic Work Design weaves you into an integrated system. Dynamic Work Design embraces uncertainty and uses it to accelerate learning.”

Their Dynamic Work Design principles have sped the introduction of new technology in human genome sequencing and improved a Tier 1 automotive supplier’s product development. “Our approach is unique because it applies equally to repetitive work or strategy and innovation work,” says Kieffer.

Real Improvements at Real Companies

As you will see in the enclosed papers, using Dynamic Work Design can lead to dramatic gains in efficiency, flexibility, engagement, and, ultimately, competitiveness.

Harley-Davidson: In a MIT Sloan Management Review article, “The Most Underrated Skill in Management,” Repenning and Kieffer highlight the importance of the first principle. Their work, grounded in brain science, social science, and practice, details the natural tendency to jump to solutions. Using an example from Kieffer’s experience as an executive at Harley-Davidson in the late 1990s, they show that by moving to structured problem solving, leaders can leverage their human and capital resources to deliver better and faster results.

Software development: “Agile for Everyone Else” focuses on the second principle and illustrates how insights from software development on agility transfer to work in other organizations. Repenning says, “We explain how good work processes can move between the two modes of efficiency and adaptability. Once you recognize you aren’t stuck in just one box, you can design a set of rules that will move back and forth depending on the state of the work. This shows the importance of reconciling intent and activity—you can design the work so every activity is tied together to meet your targets with real-time visibility.”

Broad Institute: In a paper on their work with the Broad Institute, “Speeding the Search for a Cure,” they show how all four principles helped a cancer research lab dramatically increase the productivity of genomic sequencing while speeding the introduction of new technologies. Clarifying the strategic imperatives and turning them into action using Dynamic Work Design engaged and energized the entire organization.